Express bus is seen as an expensive option<\/p>\n
By Ati Nurbaiti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Every report about a new transportation service
\nis like a novel cure to city stress. Jakartan bus passengers
\nindeed appreciate the news, but after a few months most accept
\nthe same old routine with only a few grumbles.<\/p>\n
This has happened since the state bus company, PPD, introduced
\nbuses called PATAS, an acronym for 'cepat terbatas' (fast and
\nlimited), in 1981.<\/p>\n
At first people were awed by the grand looking buses -- grand
\nbecause they were starkly empty and didn't have grubby conductors
\nshouting 'Kosong kosong!!' (Empty!) with their legs hanging out the
\noverflowing bus door.<\/p>\n
Over time, the fares increased and the service diminished. The
\nfare began at Rp 150, compared to the regular buses of Rp 50, and
\ngradually increased to the present Rp 550. Regular large buses
\nare Rp 250.<\/p>\n
The express buses quickly became stuffed with standing
\npassengers and PATAS was no longer fast and limited, just a
\nnormal big bus with double the fare.<\/p>\n
A lack of buses was the excuse for the state company's
\nvanishing intention of reducing private cars on jammed roads. The
\ntargeted new bus passengers still sheepishly crawled through
\ncongestion.<\/p>\n
Public transport users again ogled at the clean white PPD
\nbuses seven years later. The fare began at Rp 750 in 1988 for the
\nair-conditioned ride free of cramps, street singers and other
\nvendors. It is now Rp 1,400.<\/p>\n
Passengers in crisp suits slowly learnt to deposit the exact
\namount in pay boxes without being hassled by a conductor. Some
\ncar owners even relegated their vehicles for weekend use only,
\nbut others said they still needed their cars because the large
\nbuses only traveled the main roads.<\/p>\n
The buses are still a significant breakthrough for those who
\ncan't stand the horrible buses or afford expensive taxis.<\/p>\n
Last year, when PPD harshly sanctioned drivers caught stealing
\nfares, the impression was that the public could at least rely on
\nthe service, however expensive.<\/p>\n
But no one complains when the supposedly more disciplined PPD
\ndrivers stop in the middle of the road to pick up passengers just
\nlike their Metromini cousins.<\/p>\n
Private<\/p>\n
When the Jakarta municipality finally ended the 14-year limit
\non exclusive state ownership of large buses in 1993, four private
\ninvestors started to operate express buses. A city survey had
\nfound the existing PPD buses could only carry 2.9 million
\npassengers a day, only 38 percent of those in need of public
\ntransport.<\/p>\n
PT Tanda Wijaya Sakti has operated air-conditioned express
\nbuses called \"Mass Transit\" since December 1993.<\/p>\n
The rules have, of course, been stretched again.<\/p>\n
\"Once I dozed off on the way home from work on the number P20
\nMass Transit bus (Senen to Lebak Bulus route) and when I woke up
\nthe bus was full of standing passengers,\" said an accountant,
\nAmalia, not her real name. The standing passengers also pay full
\nfare.<\/p>\n
Like the initial PATAS buses, the owners of the air-
\nconditioned buses profit from peak hours, making up for empty
\nseats during the rest of the day.<\/p>\n
The private Mayasari Bhakti company is also known to fill its
\nair-conditioned buses with standing passengers. Especially on the
\nroute from Pulogadung, East Jakarta, to Grogol in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"It's still air-conditioned and better than taking a taxi,\"
\nsaid one employee. This proves that many Jakartans want to enjoy
\na small bit of comfort while they can.<\/p>\n
For Mrs. Suwaryo, comfort is not a priority. She can afford Rp
\n6,000 for transport a day or a monthly total of Rp 156,000. When
\nthe factory she works at moves from Cakung, North Jakarta, to a
\nremote area in Tangerang she will be strapped to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
\"Unless I can hitch a ride home with my boss, almost half of
\nmy Rp 350,000 monthly wage will go to transportation,\" said the
\npersonnel manager who lives in Bekasi.<\/p>\n
She takes the cheaper bus to Cakung, although it adds 30
\nminutes to the journey. To reach the new site in Tangerang, she
\nwill have to take the express bus and spend at least two hours
\nfor a single trip. A regular eight hour working day ends up being
\n14 hours away from her small children.<\/p>\n
As long as wages stay low, Jakartans, like Suwaryo, will
\ncontinue to silently cram themselves into the dirty, disgusting
\nand dangerous buses. Maybe if someone refused.<\/p>",
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